In the Absence of Cherry Blossoms
by regina di cuori
Summary: shoujo mangified au carebears fanfic in which all the residents of care-a-lot are thrown into a change of scenery. here at carawood high, home of the carawood bears, we'll explore the lives of the personified carebears through the eyes of sweet sakura bear, our japanese exchange student as she struggles through the problems of a high school girl.
1. New

ksldjfksdajfk. please don't mind me, i just had this idea in my head for some time now and i wanted to get it out. i guess it came to me when i, for some reason, looked up care bear fanfics and realized their existence. so when i saw that, i just had this idea that because i've grown up, i'd like to try my hand at taking part of my childhood and making it grow up with me. urghhh. frustrations. probably not gonna complete this lol 

* * *

In a new land, in a new place. It's never easy starting out, but this is the dream that she's always wanted. The chance she'd always been waiting for. The chance to come to America, and experience something completely unalike anything she had ever before. Sakura Hisano jumped at it like a lion closing in for the kill. If she didn't take this chance to study abroad, who knew when the next opportunity would appear.

At the first mention of America, her parents had objected outright. They thought her crazy, why on earth would she want to leave Japan? Her home was a successful country, in all its own right. Everything their daughter needed in life grew directly in their backyard.

Sakura knew this, but of course an American experience didn't sound all that bad. The idea was first implanted in her head when she was five. Movies-especially American ones with cute boys-really had an influence.

Sakura blushed, recalling the beginnings of her desire to see America. It wasn't the only reason why she so desperately wanted to go. There was the differences between her proper, dignified lifestyle and the average American teenager's. And the education; the curriculum was surely different than that of her own in Japan. Sakura had also been informed that the customs in high school were also very foreign. And oh, the uniforms. In American schools, students had no need for them. Sakira could kiss goodbye the sailor uniforms that had drawn the attention of lecherous, creepy old men towards her.

The girl tucked a long strang of jet black hair behind her ears as the spring wind blew. In the absence of pink petals flitting about in the air, she sighed. There were no cherry blossoms here in America. The flower with which she shared her namesake would be missing from her sight for a few years. It would be one thing that Sakura missed from her homeland.

Her aunt-whom agreed to let Sakura stay with her-had attempted to cultivate a few small cherry trees in her backyard, but the blooms on the branches were noticably different. Nonetheless, still beautiful, and very much appreciated.

Sakura inhaled sharply, anxious to start her first day tomorrow. What would Carawood High School, home of the Bears, be like? The anticipation and excitement was chewing at her from the inside out. In such deep thought, she had failed to notice her aunt's entrance to the back porch, swiftly taking a seat beside Sakura with a plate of store bought black cherries.

Asako wasn't all that much older than Sakura herself, at the age of twenty six. Still young and celebratory of life, much more than her own niece anyways.

"You'll be fine," Sakura turned to look at her aunt. Asako was speaking English. Very perfected and well practiced English. Asako had instructed Sakura to speak in English only for the time being, to better her speech and familiarity with the language.

In all honesty, Sakura felt gratitude towards the older woman. Despite having practiced English for a long time, there were still major slip ups in her speech, and a lingering accent which Sakura found embarrassing. "I'm not worried. Just very, very excited," she raised one cherry to her lips, the sweet tanginess of the flesh dancing on her tongue after she bit into the small fruit.

Asako regarded her niece with a sideways glance, spitting out a cherry pit towards the direction of the grass in front of the two. She herself decided to move to America when she was twenty two. At the time, Sakura had only been thirteen, and envious of Asako's ableness to travel freely. When Sakura's mother, Asako's sister, had opposed letting her daughter go abroad, Asako had been the one to support Sakura's decision and desire.

"Well, I'm sure you'll do fine anyways," Asako smiled assuringly, resting one hand on the younger girl's shoulder.

Sakura gave a grin in return, "Thanks Auntie," the girl exhaled, feeling her anxiety melt away with the oncoming of a new lifestyle.


	2. Cherry

The bell rang, and its echoes cried through the hall. Vibrations in the air beat on her eardrums, pricking the soft and tender flesh. It would take a while to get used to it. Back home, the bell was played over the PTA, several high notes instead of a continuous ringing.

"So you've got your schedule, and oh-" Principal Dorothy Martin cut herself off mid sentence, calling out to a student who appeared to be trying to get to class. Of course, if the Principal herself decided to stop you, obviously one would think it was for an important reason.

"This is Theodore Harrow," Principal Martin gestured towards the boy, "he shares most of his classes with you. He'll help you through the day."

Sakura turned towards the other student, who in turn grinned at her with what had to be one of the most brilliantly structured faces she had ever seen. "Now then, if you need anything, you can come to me. Although I'm sure you won't have to, since you'll have Theodore's assistance. Have a good first day, dear!"

Principal Martin had sauntered off in the direction of the main office before Sakura could say anything. Of course, it's not like she would have spoken against Principal Martin's judgement; if she had decided to entrust Sakura's fate to this boy then it would obviously had been for the better. At least Sakura hoped so.

"So... I didn't get your name," Theodore spoke as soon as Principal Martin had left, without breaking a beat. Sakura was thankful, it seemed he knew how to keep conversations flowing without a trace of awkwardness.

She looked up at the boy, who was indeed taller. Intimidation flushed her cheeks, but the color was more from how good-looking she found this boy to be. "Sakura," her voice came out low and uneven, her tongue nearly tripping on its own self.

Theodore smiled again, "Pretty name. You must be the exchange student from Japan. I may not know a lot about the language, but I do know enough to say with confidence 'Sakura' is the Japanese word for cherry blossom."

Sakura nodded. Common knowledge, but even so, impressive. "Thank you," her eyes cast downward, not sure what to say next, "I'm not sure where to go for this class," Sakura awkwardly pointed at her schedule, inwardly beating herself for how clipped she was making herself seem.

Another blush crept up her neck, threatening to bloom across her face as Theodore leaned closer to examine.

"Oh, we have that class together. Let's start walking, we only have like three minutes left of passing time before the tardy bell rings. We can talk on the way too," Theodore smiled again, already a few steps ahead of herself. Sakura decided she liked his face. And he had proven to be quite kind as well.

"Umm, Theodore-"

"You can call me Teddy," Sakura was surprised how quickly he had interjected, as if it was a consecutive practice.

"Ok," Sakura began evenly, "Teddy, is Principal Martin always so informal?"

"Martin? Informal?" Teddy turned in Sakura's direction, and she gave a little nod to confirm what she was asking.

Dorothy Martin was an elderly, sincere and kind woman, from what Sakura observed from a few moments ago. She was a different kind of principal; certainly distinguishable from the one Sakura had at her old high school back at Japan.

Teddy pursed his lip in thought, and Sakura looked over. His hair was a lovely shade of brown. Like the color of tea, and she especially liked when the it caught the light at a certain degree. It made his hair shine rusty red, but only sometimes. Teddy's eyes were framed with impossibly long and thick eyelashes that shamed her short lengthed ones. Sakura turned away, embarassed she'd been caught staring when Teddy caught her gaze.

"Well, it's not necessarily informality she's showing. It's just the slightest bit formal, but maybe you're just not used to it? And it's not like we're not showing her any disrespect either, just because Principal Martin's incredibly friendly towards us. She's like a grandma to the students here, and she treats us like we're her grandchildren."

"She sounds welcoming," Sakura familiarized herself with the caring grandma image of the principal as they turned a corner.

"She's not the only one," Teddy stepped in front of her as they neared a classroom door, and offered another dazzling smile, "Tell you what, I'll come find you when it's lunch time, and I'll introduce you to my friends," his hands were shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, and he leaned forward so his eye level was equal with Sakura's.

"O-okay," she could feel the heat on her face, and she knew she was blushing. Boys back in Japan were certainly not daring, at least to this extent.

Teddy beamed, "Alright then, that's that," the brunette stepped back and pointed at the classroom entrance, "This is our first period, here," Teddy explained when he saw Sakura's confused expression.

Her eyes widened, "I knew that," Sakura bit her lip when Teddy gave a small chuckle before he set a foot through the door.

"And by the way," he turned around, pausing before the rest of himself entered through the door, "I hope you don't mind, but I think I'll just call you Cherry."

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aaaand there we have the second chapter. pretty boring for a start, but eh.  
my introductions are never good haha. read and review please. i'd love to know.  
oh btw, i've introduced two care bears already to the story line! can you guess them?  
one is most definitely grams bear, and the other is tenderheart bear :D


End file.
